This application refers includes one (1) microfiche appendix, including the fifty (50) frames.
The present invention relates to puzzle games. More specifically, the invention involves mathematical, crossword style puzzle games that can be played on a board or grid structure or on an electronic playing device.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world. The first known crossword puzzle was created by Arthur Wynne and was published in the New York World Newspaper on Dec. 13, 1913. It was not until 1924 that the first book of crossword puzzles was published.
Crossword style puzzles have also been created using numbers in place of letters or words. The number puzzles are typically called number fill-in puzzles because answer sets are provided from which the player selects possible solutions to the puzzle. Only one of the number answers from each answer set will fit properly in the puzzle. In number fill-in puzzles, the answer sets are organized according to the number of digits in each of the answers in the set.
What is needed is a numeric crossword style game based on a set of rules that can be played either on a board or planar grid structure or on an electronic hand held device. The printed planar grid structure can be printed in books, magazines or newspapers.
Attached, and incorporated herein, are fifty (50) frames of a microfiche appendix, which includes instruction code written in machine language, including notations.
The present invention provides a numeric game device and method that can be played on a game board or planar grid structure or on an electronic device. Preferably, the electronic device will be small enough to be held within the player""s hand.
The crossword style mathematical apparatus includes a pre-defined play area having a combination of useable and unusable empty spaces that are oriented in a horizontal and a vertical direction. The resulting grid structure forms a combination of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows of useable and unusable spaces. A set of rules is applied to the resulting grid structure wherein numbers are selectively entered by the player into the useable empty spaces such that the mathematical difference between adjacent numbers entered into said grid structure is greater than one. In addition, the rules specify that all individual numbers in any continuous horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction are different.
A digital crossword-style puzzle embodiment of the invention includes an instruction memory, a logic control network, an EEPROM memory unit, a data comparator, a multi-character status display, a multi-character puzzle play screen matrix, user entry keys and a puzzle cartridge unit.
The instruction memory is operative with the logic control network and the logic control network operative with the EEPROM memory unit to:
1. Receive input from the user entry keys;
2. Display answer groups from which the user may select;
3. Display status messages concerning the status of the game on the multi character status display;
4. Display numeric data resulting from the users input on the multi-character puzzle play screen matrix; and
5. Control the flow of data between the puzzle cartridge unit and the EEPROM memory unit.
The puzzle play screen matrix includes a combination of useable and unusable empty spaces that are oriented in a horizontal direction; and a combination of useable and unusable empty spaces that are oriented in a vertical direction. The useable spaces have different indicia than the unusable spaces whereby the user can distinguish between the usable and the unusable spaces.
The useable and unusable empty spaces form a grid structure having a combination of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows of useable and unusable spaces. Each row of the useable spaces in a continuous horizontal or vertical direction forms a clue placement position.
The puzzle cartridge unit is removable and contains data that includes multiple groups of number sets, each number set includes the same number of digits as each corresponding placement position wherein an individual number set within an answer group is selected by the player with the user entry keys to fill-in the horizontal and vertical clue placements and the quantity of answer groups is equal to the quantity of clue placements. The player can choose from different puzzle cartridge units, each containing a variety of different game data in accordance with the invention.
The comparator determines if the mathematical difference between adjacent numbers on any diagonal number string resulting from the number sets entered into the grid structure by the user is greater than one; and generates a signal that is used by the logic control unit to generate a corresponding status message on the status display.
Because the data from the game data cartridge unit is stored in a non-volatile EEPROM memory element, the contents of the EEPROM will be preserved. This allows the electronic crossword-style game to be turned off without the need to have continuous power applied to the electronic crossword style game.
A method of playing a mathematical number game on a planar grid structure embodiment is also provided which has a combination of pre-defined useable and unusable empty spaces. The useable spaces are indicated by indicia different from the unusable spaces. The grid structure forms horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows of useable spaces. The continuous useable spaces in each horizontal and vertical direction form clue placement positions. The method comprises the steps of:
a. Selecting a number set from a provided number group;
b. Positioning the selected number set in a desired clue placement position on the grid structure;
c. Evaluating the selected number set in the desired clue placement position relative to the grid structure to ensure that the mathematical difference between any two adjacent numbers in any horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows of useable spaces is greater than one;
d. Evaluating the selected number set relative to the entire grid structure to ensure that every two adjacent numbers in any continuous horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction are different; and
e. Repeating steps a through d until the selected number set passes each test set forth in steps c and d.
A crossword style mathematical game embodiment of the instant invention is also provided which comprises a pre-defined grid having a combination of useable and unusable spaces. The usable spaces are indicated by indicia different from the unusable spaces. The useable and unusable empty spaces forms a grid structure having a combination of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal rows of useable and unusable spaces. Each of the horizontal rows and each of the vertical rows of usable spaces is a designated clue placement position.
A set of across answer groups and a set of down answer groups, each answer group comprising number sets from which the player may choose, is provided for each of said clue placement positions. Each answer group comprises at least one correct answer set for each clue placement position that results in the mathematical difference between every two adjacent numbers in the grid structure becoming two or more. The inventive planar grid embodiment and method of play may also be used on the Internet.